The Best Resident Evil?

Next month, Capcom resumes scaring gamers with Resident Evil 5, the latest entry in the survival-horror series that helped define a genre. The Resident Evil series turns 13 this year, too, making it a perfect time to ring in a new installment of this storied franchise. Chances are, if you've been gaming for the last decade, you have at least dropped one or two (or 500) zombies infected with Umbrella's sinister T-Virus.

We asked readers which of the Resident Evil games was the best. Over 21,000 thousand logged their opinion of the ten options we offered. Here's how the votes break down:

Resident Evil 4: 59%

Resident Evil 2: 17%

Resident Evil: 11%

Resident Evil 3: Nemesis: 5%

Resident Evil: Code Veronica: 4%

Resident Evil Zero: 1%

Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles: 1%

Resident Evil Outbreak: 0%

Resident Evil Outbreak 2: 0%

Resident Evil: Dead Aim: 0%

It should come as no surprise that Resident Evil 4 topped the list. The 2005 release was a critical and commercial smash, winning a number of awards. What is interesting to see, though, is how the main games in the franchise steamrolled over the off-shoots. The two Outbreak games for the PlayStation 2 cratered in this poll, as did the light gun shooter Dead Aim. True, these games did not necessarily grab the best reviews or the most sales, but it says either Capcom should just concentrate on the main games in the series since fans like them the most or that Capcom needs to pay better attention to the quality of the off-shoot games. Or maybe it's a combination of two.

Which game did you vote for? And if you didn't vote, which of the Resident Evil games do you believe deserves the top spot? Hit the comments section below to let us know!